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Lindsay Clancy returned to a Massachusetts courtroom Tuesday as her attorneys pushed to prevent prosecutors from putting her on trial again for the deaths of her three children.
Clancy, 36, appeared at Plymouth Superior Court for a status conference, less than a month after Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial in her five-week murder case. Prosecutors have not yet announced whether they intend to retry her.
Clancy is charged with killing her children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old Callan, in January 2023. She has pleaded not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility, with her defense arguing that she was experiencing postpartum psychosis at the time.
Her attorney, Kevin Reddington, is now asking Sullivan to find Clancy not guilty rather than allow the case to proceed to another trial. He argued that prosecutors did not present enough evidence to establish that Clancy was criminally responsible for the children's deaths.
Reddington has also argued that a second trial would violate Clancy's protection against double jeopardy. His legal team maintains that the mistrial should not have been declared and that the jury's inability to reach a unanimous verdict should not give prosecutors another opportunity to prosecute her.
The first trial ended Sept. 4 after jurors deliberated for seven days without reaching a unanimous decision. Reports from the proceedings indicated that the jury was divided, with one juror preventing a verdict.
The defense has challenged the conduct of that juror and is seeking access to normally confidential jury records as part of its efforts to prevent a retrial. Reddington has also questioned aspects of the police investigation and the evidence presented during the trial.
Prosecutors have rejected the defense's claims and argued that there was extensive evidence in the case.
The prosecution now has several possible paths, including seeking a retrial on the original charges, pursuing lesser charges or negotiating a resolution. No decision has been formally announced.
The case centers on what Clancy's mental state was when her children died. Prosecutors argued that she deliberately killed them and understood that what she was doing was wrong. Her defense has maintained that postpartum psychosis left her unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of her actions.
Clancy also attempted suicide after the children's deaths by jumping from a second-story window. The fall left her paralyzed from the waist down.
She remains at a state psychiatric hospital under custody and is on suicide watch.
Judge Sullivan is expected to address several pending motions before the case can move forward. Another hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 2, when the court is expected to continue considering the defense's efforts to prevent a retrial.
